Reply With QuoteWhat the hell makes you think you can control the behavior of a bunch of college athletes? Are you crazy? Or are you just willing to cut off your nose to spite your face/shitcan everybody on the team who parties?
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Of course, yes you are correct. However there are enough challenges putting a team together such as sponsorship, training schedules, talent levels of individual players, personality clashes, injuries, the pressure to produce a season win from the supporters etc. Why the hell would you permit athletes to participate or train hungover? It does not make any sense. Today more than ever sport of any type is very competitive. Opposing teams are looking for any weakness that can be exploited. Why give them a helping hand? Sorry, no excuses, want to train? then don't come pissed!Originally Posted by steelo
TMPHBITEU
What the hell makes you think you can control the behavior of a bunch of college athletes? Are you crazy? Or are you just willing to cut off your nose to spite your face/shitcan everybody on the team who parties?
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If you came across a trainee that had the potential to be a great lifter, I mean someone with real talent, not wannabes like me, if he turned up hungover each training session would you accept that? I don't reckon you would. 100% total commitment is what you would demand, don't tell me that is behavior control, it is bloody guidance. It is the same way you treat your kids, if they were affected by drugs or alcohol and it affected their performance at school or work would you not do something about it?
A team, an individual, your children there is no difference it is your responsibility to get the best from them and that sometimes requires tough leadership, yes you may become unpopular. No one including myself ever said it is easy. You do what you think is best.
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Some of the best games of rugby I ever played were when most of us were still a little buzzed from the night before. Especially on the tours to Ireland.
In some regards it's a cultural thing and it comes down to knowing what you control in regards to team behavior and what youre better of accepting and even making something of.
In the last club I played for we had a real drinking culture and it did get a little out of hand. The coach flipped it around and said anyone who plays especially poorly in training doesn't get to join in on the after match boozing. If you play poorly in a match then it's an open bar on your tab... Problem solved.
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I think you're missing one point of the article; the training they did when they were on a hangover was so exhausting that after the 3rd or 4th time they realized that they had to be sober to train and that's what they did eventually. You gave them a 3 strike ban. The result is the same in either case.
TMPHBITEU
Wal, your problem is that you think ALL drinking is a problem, and you therefore give yourself too big a problem to solve.
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I did not say all drinking is a problem, but the potential is there. You maybe one of the few that can control it, but I have seen tougher men than you in a moment of weakness succumb to its influence and then plague them for the rest of their lives.
Bill Starr's article is about training with a hangover, but what some of these young athletes don't realize is the immediate effect of binge drinking maybe over come by some physical training, but the overall effects are cumulative. Old habits die hard, therefore it is my opinion that it is better to discourage the "party time" attitude.
Bill Starr says train them hard and they will correct themselves to a certain extent. I say don't come to training pissed at all, that is if you want to excel in your chosen sport. Now you may not like what I say and If I have to go it alone on this issue so be it. I work with young men and yes they drink, and you are right I cannot stop them, but if they come to work hungover I send them home, why should training be any different, is it not as important as anything else you do?
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Wal I don't think you understand what university sports are like. At the professional level it's a different matter I'm sure. I'm at St Andrews and our rowing team is pretty decent at the university level though it still joked that it is a "drinking club with a rowing problem", it is competive but we still have to fill an eight. There's only so many 6ft4 people who are dedicated enough to row or aren't doing some other sport like rugby or swimming. It's the same situation with football in America I presume, there's only a handful of 275lbs+ lineman material walking around. It's always better to have a boat full tall muscular guys that are operating at 70% becuase they're hungover vs some average people who never drink but are still shit comparatively.
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I am in the last category Adam average but still shit. Ha! I understand what you are saying, but I would like to see those guys operating at 100%. Alcohol consumption is causing a huge problem in my country especially among the young kids, it is so hard for them to resist peer pressure.
To me as stupid as I am I would like to change that, but Rippetoe is right how the hell can I change the behavior of bunch of college athletes, the short answer to that questions is I can't. However men like you and coaches like Rippetoe can at least try. So Adam if the other rowing team is rowing at 70% I guess you guys have chance to win the cup.
Anyway I am getting out of here before Rippetoe throws me out.
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